Tyndale Open Bible Dictionary

CLOTH AND CLOTH MANUFACTURING*

Since antiquity, cloth has been made from such natural fibers as flax, wool, cotton, silk, and hair. Linen (spun from flax), wool, and sackcloth (woven from goat’s or camel’s hair) are the fabrics most frequently mentioned in Scripture. The Bible also refers to silk and cotton.

Fibers for Weaving

Linen

Flax was cultivated extensively in the Near East. In Palestine it flourished around the Sea of Galilee. The stalks were gathered into bundles and steeped in water, causing the fibers to separate from the nonfibrous stem. The bundles were then opened and spread out to dry in the sun. Rahab hid Hebrew spies on the roof of her house amid stalks of flax laid out to dry (Jos 2:6). After drying, the stalks were split and combed to separate the fibers for spinning and weaving into linen. Biblical references to flax include Exodus 9:31, Judges 15:14, and Proverbs 31:13.

The type of fabric from which the priestly coats, girdles, and caps (Ex 28:40) were made is not stated, though the mention of linen breeches may imply that most, if not all, of the priestly garments were made of linen. The finest linen, worn by kings and nobles, served as a mark of honor or as a special gift. Joseph was given a garment of fine linen when he was made ruler of Egypt (Gn 41:42). When the Hebrews left Egypt at the time of the exodus, they took with them a high-quality linen and donated it to the tabernacle (Ex 25:4; 35:6). A craftsman who was trained to work in fine linen came from Tyre to work for Solomon on temple hangings (2 Chr 2:14).

Wool

Wool was another extremely important fiber in the Near Eastern economy. Wool could come in any shade from creamy yellow to tan or black. Sometimes to obtain pure white wool a sheep was kept wrapped to prevent its fleece from being soiled. Preparation of wool was a home craft in antiquity (Prv 31:13; cf. Ex 35:25). Wool had to be washed thoroughly, dried, and then beaten to detach the fibers and remove the dirt before being carded and spun. Women spun their own yarn and wove garments for their families. Wool was the fabric of seminomadic, sheep-raising people; by contrast, the growing of flax required a more settled lifestyle.

Goat’s Hair

A thick cloth that was extremely warm as well as waterproof was woven from goat’s hair (Ex 35:23, 26). Clothing worn by the poor was often manufactured from goat’s or camel’s hair. That coarse-haired fabric (sackcloth) on occasions was worn next to the skin as a form of penitence (Neh 9:1; Dn 9:3; Mt 11:21), as a mourning vestment (Gn 37:34; 2 Sm 3:31), or even as a prophetic protest against luxurious living (Rv 11:3).

Cotton, Silk, and Gold Thread

The people of Judea would certainly have been aware of cotton during their Persian exile (beginning in 538 BC). Cotton is mentioned once in a description of elaborate hangings in the Persian king’s palace (Est 1:6). It is doubtful, however, that cotton was cultivated in ancient Palestine or even found there until after the exile.

Earlier in Israel’s history, part of the tabernacle fabric was woven with gold thread, made from thin sheets of beaten gold cut into fine wire strips (Ex 39:3). A wider type of gold wire with a flat surface was used to adorn expensive Palestinian and Syrian garments. An ancient hank of fine gold thread was uncovered during excavations at Dura on the Euphrates River.

Spinning

In Bible times a spindle was a slender rounded stick, tapered and notched at one end and weighted at the other end with a “whorl” of clay, stone, glass, or metal to serve as a kind of flywheel. The thread spun at the tapered end was wound on the spindle. Another thin stick, called a distaff, held the fibers to be fed onto the twirling spindle.

Looms and Weaving

Weaving is the interlacing of “warp” threads stretched on a loom with threads of “weft” or “woof” passed from side to side over and under the warp. A primitive warp could be stretched around pegs or rods tied to a tree or roof beam and sometimes connected to the weaver’s waist.

As weaving technique developed, three types of loom emerged: the horizontal ground loom, the vertical two-beamed loom, and the warp-weighted loom. In a horizontal ground loom the warp was stretched between two wooden beams fastened to the ground by four pegs. Traveling nomads could pull out the pegs and roll up the unfinished weaving on the beams. Delilah wove Samson’s hair on a horizontal ground loom (Jgs 16:13-14).

The vertical two-beamed loom had its warp stretched on a rectangular wooden frame. In addition to the two uprights and two warp beams, another beam was often used to maintain the tension of the warp, especially on longer lengths.

The warp-weighted loom, also on a vertical frame, was worked from the top down. The lower edge was weighted with loom weights, often shaped lumps of clay.

The degree of sophistication in weaving techniques in biblical times is seen in the specifications regarding fabrics for the tabernacle and its court. Hangings for the court were to be 50 yards (45.7 meters) long and probably a standard 2 yards (1.8 meters) wide (Ex 27:9-18). The tabernacle veil (26:31) and screen for the entrance (v 36) were to be of “blue and purple and scarlet stuff,” probably highlighted or embroidered with linen.

Garments such as the tunic that Jesus wore were woven in one piece with the selvage (edge of the weaving) coming at the neck and hem, the areas of greatest wear. A tunic woven on a narrow loom would be constructed of three pieces.

Cloth Dyes and Dyeing

Like the fibers, the dyes used in antiquity were also of animal or plant origin. A red dye was obtained from the body of an insect. Purple came mainly from two kinds of mollusks found in many parts of the eastern Mediterranean seaboard. The purest shade of purple could be obtained from mollusks found on the shore at Tyre, so a large industry developed there (Ez 27:1-3,16). Purple, the most expensive dye, remained the distinguishing color of kings and nobles. The first Christian convert in Europe, Lydia, was a businesswoman who sold the costly purple cloth (Acts 16:14). Yellow was obtained from the petals and flower heads of the safflower. Saffron (orange-yellow) came from the stigmas of the crocus that grew extensively in Syria and Egypt. Green was usually concocted from a mixture of other dyes. In Hellenistic times woad, a plant of the mustard family, was cultivated in Mesopotamia for its blue dye. Indigo was grown in Egypt and Syria. Dyeing in antiquity was often carried out in large vats, pictures of which have been found in paintings and on pottery. The ruins of structures including vats have been excavated at some Palestinian sites.